Mum's pinkberry pavlova recipe

When I was little, I always remember before every family party, my mum in the kitchen baking these huge meringues that we're crisp on the outside and like marshmallow on the inside, piled with whipped cream and an assortment of fruit. They tasted awesome so she was always asked to make some!

This is the first time I have ever made this and I am adding my own twist on the tradition by making it PINK! Has to be done.

So without further a do, let me introduce my recipe for...

MUM'S PINKBERRY PAVLOVA!

You'll need:

{Meringue}

• 3 Egg Whites
• 6oz Caster Sugar
• 1tsp Cornflour
• 1tsp White wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
• Food colouring paste

{Topping}

• 1/2 pint double cream
• Strawberries
• Raspberries
• Bar of chocolate (optional)
• Icing sugar

Tools:

• Electric or hand mixer/whisk
• Baking Sheet
• Baking Paper
• Measuring Spoons
• Scales
• Spatula
• Cooling Rack
• Bowl

1) Start by preheating the oven to 130°c

2) Take 3 large eggs and separate the whites. I do this by cracking the egg onto a plate and placing an egg cup over the yoke so I can tip the whites into my mixing bowl.

3) Whisk the egg whites on a medium/fast setting until it creates a stiff peak. This means that when the whisk is taken out, you should have a fluffy white point on the end of the whisk.

4) Add in half of the sugar and a small blob of food colouring and whisk again into a stiff peak.

5) Add in the rest of sugar and whisk some more

6) Add in your white wine vinegar, vanilla extract and cornflour and combine on a slow speed.

7) Get a dinner plate or large saucepan lid and draw around it onto your baking paper.

8) Apply a tiny blob of mixture in the centre of your drawn circle on the pen side and then place it onto your baking tray so that the small blob of mixture holds the paper to the tray and your drawn circle is on the reverse but can still be seen through the paper as a guide.

9) Using a spatula, spoon mixture into the centre of your circle and start pushing it towards the drawn edge of your circle. Try and get the mixture level but you don't need to make it smooth.

10) Place in the oven for 1 hour. If your oven isn't fan assisted then you might need to add an extra 15 minutes onto the cooking time.

11) To make sure the meringue is cooked, gently press the center which should be hard on the outside but have a slight bounce to touch.

12) Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool. The meringue might start to crack and this is normal. Once cool, carefully remove the baking paper and transfer onto your serving plate or cake stand.

TOPPING:

You can decorate the top of your pavlova with anything you fancy, cream is a staple and then you can add chocolate buttons, toffee sauce or a variety of fruits such as tinned mandarins, slices of kiwi, grapes and blueberries. I chose my favorite which is strawberries and raspberries.

First you need to whisk your double cream until stiff and then dollop on top! 

There is no set way of decorating your pavlova, pile it up or arrange in a pattern, it's entirely up to you! Once you have you fruit on top, either grate chocolate over the top or dust lightly with icing sugar!

{Chocolate dripped strawberries}

1) Firstly I used 3/4 of the chocolate to make some strawberries dipped in chocolate ganache. To do this heat a pan of water on the hob and place a larger bowl over the simmering water. Place a splash of cream into the bowl and heat, then add in the chocolate and heat gently until melted.

2) Take a plate and line with some baking sheet, this will be easier to remove the strawberries once the chocolate has cooled.

3) Let the chocolate mixture cool slightly and then dip in your strawberries.

4) Transfer to fridge until the ganache has set hard. Mine didn't make it that far as I ate them! Whoops!

And finally....

EAT. 

PS. Look at the size of this strawberry!